Ida is now a Category 1 hurricane and is set to strengthen in Gulf of Mexico
Ida has reached hurricane status with winds of 75 mph, the National Hurricane Center said at 12:15 p.m. Friday.
“Data from an Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter aircraft indicate that Ida has strengthened into a hurricane as it approaches the Isle of Youth, Cuba.”
The storm is forecast to strengthen quickly over the warm Gulf of Mexico, and maximum winds before landfall could reach 120 mph.
That would put the storm at a Category 3 hurricane, which is 111-129 mph on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
However, some models show the storm could strengthen further than that.
“...Once it moves over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico a period of rapid strengthening is likely to begin, with the NHC intensity forecast explicitly calling for rapid intensification to major hurricane strength between 24 and 48 hours,” the NHC’s 11 a.m. forecast says. “The official intensity forecast is on the higher side of the intensity guidance but not quite as high as the slightly more aggressive CTCI, HWRF, and HCCA models.”
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